In 1990, Kowalski matriculated at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a four-year program whose curriculum consists of the "Great Books" of Western Civilization, including not only literature, but also philosophy, mathematics, the sciences, music and art.
Eddie's Bastard (1999), Somewhere South of Here (2001),[1] The Adventures of Flash Jackson (2003), and The Good Neighbor (2004) were all published in the U.S. by HarperCollins and in the United Kingdom by Transworld/Doubleday/Black Swan.
Kowalski's work has been translated into fifteen languages and has appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including The Times of London.
[citation needed] In his New York Times review of Eddie's Bastard, William J. Cobb complemented Kowalski for his style and exuberance but faulted him for making the novel both sentimental and anachronistic.
[3] But Los Angeles Times reviewer Mark Rozzo was more impressed, rejecting the charge of sentimentality and praising the work for its "enviably gentle pacing," "unflappable good nature" and "honeyed glow".
[5] His sequel to Eddie's Bastard, Somewhere South of Here, was described by Elizabeth Judd as being confident and entertaining in the Kerouac mold, noting Kowalski's "talent for casual invention" and "bravado," even though it never reaches the "deeper truths" of its own story.